May 2023 Musings

Although the official start of summer is not until June 21, the unofficial start for many in Saskatchewan begins on “May long,” which is the celebration of Victoria Day. It is the traditional weekend of opening cabins and digging into yard work in hopes that the ground has thawed. I hope the month of May finds you getting out and about to visit with your neighbours and others in your community.

During my travels this year, I have enjoyed fellowship at almost 30 of our 45 Lodges through Lodge meetings and functions. It has been powerful to experience the high-quality work that is done in our Lodges and the incredible array of fundraising events that Lodges host. These all help spread the word about Freemasonry and our roles in our communities.

A highlight of many meetings is Masonic education, which is the focus of this month’s examples of my theme, “if you build it, he will come.”

• If we build a strong education programme in each Lodge, he will come to better understand our fraternity, but let us not downplay the effort required to understand the teachings of Freemasonry, effort on the part of the Lodge and on the part of the individual

Masonic education can include the study of Masonic values, history, symbols, myths and ritual. It also addresses leadership and self-improvement. Education can take place in or out of Lodge through formal presentations, mentoring, discussion groups and personal study of Masonic resources.

There are a few formalized options for Saskatchewan Masons who wish to participate in Masonic education and research. They include the Masonic Education and Research committee of the Grand Lodge Board of General Purposes, Solomon Lodge of Research No. 5986 (currently being re-established and open to all Master Masons later in the year) and Allied Masonic Degrees (open to Royal Arch members).

A few reminders:

• Registration information for the upcoming Annual Communication is available on the Grand Lodge website – www.saskmasons.ca or tinyurl.com/2023GLS.
• The Masonic Youth Leadership Camp (July 30 – August 4) is accepting applications from students going into Grades 9 through 12.

Grand Master’s challenge coins are still available for a minimum donation of $20 to the Masonic Youth Leadership Camp. Please contact me at dean.elliott@saskmasons.ca if you wish to obtain one or more coins.

"If you build it, he will come”

MW Bro. Dean Elliott, Grand Master, 2022-23